**UTAP funding approved: Course Code C00034992
- UTAP funding is only applicable to NTUC union members who will enjoy 50% unfunded course fee support, capped at $250 or $500 (aged 40 years old and above; this will apply from 15 April 2025 to 31 March 2027) each year when they sign up for courses supported under UTAP. This excludes SkillsFuture Credit utilisation and other government subsidies.
- Union Members Eligibility for UTAP Application (https://www.ntuc.org.sg/skillsupgrade)
- Union member must commence the course within UTAP approved period.
- Union member must achieve minimum attendance (75%) for the course based on existing Government regulations and sit for all prescribed examination(s) if any.
- Union member must submit claims via UTAP system within 6 months after course completion.
- Union member must not claim full funding through company sponsorship or other types of funding.
- Union member must have paid-up union membership before course commencement, throughout the entire course duration and at the point of claim.
- Should trainees have queries on the UTAP funding scheme, they can email to UTAP@e2i.com.sg or use the Live Chat function to enquire on membership matters
Overview
Every child possesses the instincts to disobey, resist, counter, balk, talk back, defy, work to rule, withhold cooperation, do the opposite of what is expected, break the rules, assume antisocial attitudes, become preoccupied with taboos, as well as to appear insolent, defiant, oppositional and disrespectful. These behaviours are not inherited, neither do they need to be learned. In fact, these behaviours are an expression of a dynamic that is inherent to human nature. This dynamic was aptly dubbed Counterwill by Otto Rank, an Austrian psychologist at the turn of the last century and revived by Dr. Gordon Neufeld.
Although we may be well accustomed to these impulses within ourselves, we are often surprised when we encounter them in our children. We tend to assume that children were born to do our bidding. Given this assumption, we also tend to hold it against them when they resist and oppose us. Counterwill is undoubtedly one of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted dynamics in children. It is impossible to make sense of children without having some understanding and appreciation of the Counterwill dynamic. To understand it is to lay the foundation for knowing how to deal with it.
This presentation will explore the meaning of Counterwill and explain how it fits into the developmental scheme of things. Then we will look at why some children manifest this dynamic more than others. Finally, we will look at ways of managing the Counterwill instinct in the classroom setting so that we can avoid the unpleasant and disruptive “power struggle”.
Course Fees & Closing Dates
| Registration Type | Closing Date | Fees (S$) /pax |
|---|---|---|
| Early Bird | 1 Jul 2026 | 200 |
| Normal | Till Full | 260 |
Schedule
Duration : Half-Day Workshop
| Date | Time | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Sep 2026 | 9:00am – 12:00pm (Singapore Standard Time GMT+0800) | Live Online Training |
Corporate Registration Individual Registration
Speaker
Eva de Gosztonyi, MA, psychologist, OPQ
Eva de Gosztonyi, MA, psychologist, OPQ, has worked for over 45 years in schools across Canada. For the past 20 years she was the provincial resource person for the English School Boards of Quebec through the Centre of Excellence for Behaviour Management, helping adults in the school setting provide effective developmental interventions for students with behavioural challenges. Her guiding principles are that we must value the natural maturational processes of our children and youth, respect their immaturity and vulnerability, and understand that safe and caring attachments with adults are essential for their optimal growth. Grounded in a robust theory, the interventions that she recommends to schools are practical and doable and go deeper than just managing symptoms. Her understanding of child development is primarily informed by the attachment-based developmental paradigm of Dr. Gordon Neufeld. Interventions are also guided by neuroscience, are trauma-informed and trauma-responsive, and are attachment-based and developmentally friendly. Eva is on Faculty at the Neufeld Institute and is an authorized presenter of the Neufeld paradigm.
Course Outline
- The framework of the Neufeld paradigm
- Maturation, Attachment and Vulnerability
- Where do defiance, opposition and resistance come from?
- Introducing the instinct of Counterwill
- What is the purpose of the Counterwill instinct?
- Its role as a protective mechanism in Maturation, Attachment and Vulnerability
- What is the role of Counterwill in the Maturation Process?
- Resistance as necessary for developing the “self” and individuation
- Why counterwill is normal in toddlers and preschoolers
- How children usually grow out of counterwill
- What is the role of Counterwill in the Attachment?
- Resistance as a mechanism to protect the attachment relationship
- Why pervasive counterwill is a sign of attachment problems
- What is the role of Counterwill in the Vulnerability?
- Resistance as a mechanism to protect against too much vulnerability
- Why chronic counterwill is a sign of psychological immaturity
- Why conventional approaches backfire when dealing with the Counterwill instinct
- Timeouts
- Consequences
- Praise and Reward systems
- What is the best way to intervene?
- A three-pronged approach for intervening with Counterwill: reduce coercion, increase attachment, and give space for emergence
- How to safeguard one`s relationship against the fallout from Counterwill
- Planning for the student with oppositional and resistant behaviours
- Analysing a oppositional event
- Developing an individual plan for the oppositional student
Course Objectives
On completion of the workshop, participants will be able to:
- define the counterwill instinct
- explain the underlying reasons for opposition and resistance in students
- explain the role of the counterwill instinct in the process of maturation
- explain the role of the counterwill instinct in the attachment relationship
- explain the role of the counterwill instinct as it relates to vulnerability
- choose an appropriate intervention to intervene during an episode of resistance or opposition
- assist a student in finding their mixed feelings to temper their counterwill
- create conditions within a school setting to minimize the likelihood of resistance and opposition
- analyse an oppositional event
- create an individual plan for a student who is resistant and oppositional
Who Should Attend?
This workshop is appropriate for all grade levels (pre-k to secondary) special education and general education teachers, social workers, counsellors, psychologists, administrators and mental health professionals.
